Gujarat

Population: 60383628 (2011)

Language: Gujarati

Capital: Gandhinagar

 

Gujarat is an Indian state located in the western part of India. The capital of Gujarat is Gandhinagar. The largest city in the state is Ahmedabad. The important language spoken here is Gujarati. The name Gujarat is derived from the word Gujjar Ratra meaning the nation of Gurjar.

 

History of Gujarat

 

Gujarat was the seat of Indus Valley Civilization and the ancient cities namely Lothal, Dholavira and Gola Dhoro. Many dynasties namely Gupta dynasty, Rashtrakuta dynasty, Pala dynasty, Gurjara Pratihara dynasty, Maitraka dynasty and Solanki dynasty ruled over this place. In sixteenth century, it came under the control of Akbar the Great. Marathas captured Gujarat in 18th century. There were many princely states during that time and some parts of Gujarat namely Ahmedabad, Kaira, Broach, Panchmahal and Surat were under the direct control of British.

 

After the independence of India, there were Saurashtra and Bombay states and this new state had Gujarati speaking people in the north and Marathi speaking people in the south. The Bombay state was split into linguistic lines on 1st May 1960 and the new states of Gujarat and Maharashtra were formed. Initially Ahmedabad served as the capital of Gujarat and in 1970 it was shifted to Gandhinagar.

 

Geography and Climate of Gujarat

 

Gujarat spreads over an area of 196,030 square kilometers and has a coastline of 1600 kilometers. Gujarat has Rajasthan in the north, Maharashtra in the south, Madhya Pradesh in the east and Arabian Sea and Pakistan in the west. Narmada, Tapi, Mahi, Banas, Ambika, Aji, Sabarmati, Daman Ganga, Vishwamitri and Sonpari are some of the rivers that flow through Gujarat. There are 41 ports in Gujarat and one of them is the major port. Aravalli, Sahyadri, Vindhya and Satpura mountains are located here and Girmar is the tallest peak.

 

The winters are mild and the maximum temperature in winter is 29 degree Celsius and the minimum temperature is 12 degree Celsius. In summer maximum temperature is 41 degree Celsius and minimum temperature is 29 degree Celsius. In Gujarat region, the average rainfall is 1107 mm and in Saurashtra and Kachch region it is 578 mm.

 

Natural Resources of Gujarat

 

7.46% of total area of Gujarat is covered by forest. There are 4 national parks and 21 sanctuaries here and some of them are Gir Forest National Park, Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary and Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary. Large number of lions and leopards are found in them.

 

Gujarat State Map With Districts

 

There are 26 districts in Gujarat as of June 2012. Given below is the Gujarat state map with all 26 districts marked.

 

 

List of Districts of Gujarat

 

Ahmedabad

Amreli

Anand

Banaskantha

Bhavnagar

Dahod

Dang

Gandhinagar

Junagadh

Kheda

Kutch

Mehsana

Navsari

Panchmahal

Patan

Porbandar

Sabarkantha

Surat

Surendranagar

Tapi

Bharuch

Jamnagar

Narmada

Rajkot

Vadodara

Valsad

 

 

 

State Animal – Lion

State Bird – Greater Flamingo

State Dance – Garba

State Flower – Marigold

State Language – Gujarati

State Song – Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat

State Sport – Cricket, Kabaddi

State Tree – Mango

 

People and Culture of Gujarat

 


 

According to the 2011 census, the population of Gujarat is 60,383,628 people with a density of 308 people per square kilometer. Among them 89.1% of people are Hindus, 9.1% are Muslims. People of other religions live in negligible quantity. The majority of people speak Gujarati and the people from Kutch region speak Kutchi language. Hindi, Marathi and English are also widely spoken.

 

Gujarati cuisine is mostly vegetarian. Thali with roti, bhakri, dal, rice and sabzi are consumed. These dishes are sweet and salty with added spices. The folk music of Gujarat is Sugam Sangeet. The folk costume is Chania Choli and Kedia. During Makar Sankranti, people of Gujarat fly kites. Diwali, Holi, Tazia, Eid and Navratri are other festivals celebrated here.

 

 Education in Gujarat

 

The literacy rate of people of Gujarat is 79.1%. The government run and private run schools come under Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board. Some of them are also affiliated to CBSE board and CISCE board. There are 13 universities and four agricultural universities in Gujarat.

 

Some of the educational institutions in Gujarat are Space Applications Center, Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, B.K. School of Business Management, Center for Environmental Planning and Technology University, Institute of Rural Management Anand, Indian Institute of Technology, etc.

 

Economy of Gujarat

 

The economy of Gujarat is one of the fastest growing in India. The per capita income of Gujarat is well above the national average. The major crops grown here are cotton, groundnuts, dates and sugarcane. Cement and petrol are its important industrial products.

 

The state has the shipbreaking year near Bhavnagar at Alang which is the biggest of its kind in the world. Also it has the India’s only Statewide Gas Grid which has a length of 2200 kilometers. Gujarat has 24 hour power supply and has biggest share in the gas thermal electricity generation. More than 90,000 people of Gujarat use internet.

 

Gujarat is one of the leading producers of engineering goods, textiles, chemicals, petrochemicals, drugs, dairy, cement, gems, jewelry items, ceramics and pharmaceuticals. The SDP of the state has a growth rate of 14% per annum. It has surplus electricity and it sells them to 12 other Indian states. 80% of the CFL lamps and gross ceramic products comes from the biggest industrial estate in Morbi at Himatnagar.

 

Gujarat Transportation

 

There are totally 17 airports in Gujarat and among them Sardar Vallabhai Patel International Airport at Ahmedabad is the prominent one. Other domestic airports are Bhavnagar Airport, Deesa Airport, Kandla Airport, Keshod Airport, Rajkot Airport, Vadodara Airport, Porbandar Airport and Surat Airport.

 

Western Railway Zone of Indian Railways operates rail services in Gujarat. Vadodara Railway Station is the fourth busiest Railway Station in India and the busiest station in Gujarat. Other notable railway stations are situated in Surat, Ahmedabad and Rajkot.

 

Kandla Port is the largest port in Gujarat and other significant ports are Navlakhi Port, Magdalla Port, Pipavav Port, Porbandar Port and Mundra Port. The Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation runs mofussil services, intercity bus services, interstate bus services, parcel services and city services.

 

Gujarat Tourism

 

The Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited promotes tourist activities in Gujarat. There are many places of interest in Gujarat and the large number of Asiatic Lions found here attracts tourists. Some of the places of visit in Gujarat are

 

1. Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery

2. Kirti Mandir

3. Sabarmati Ashram

4. Kutch Museum

5. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial

6. Watson Museum

7. Jama Masjid

8. Surat

9. Vadodara

10. Rajkot

11. Junagadh

12. Jamnagar

13. Ahmedpur Mandvi Beach

14. Chorwad Beach

15. Gopnath Beach